Partners in Crime
by willamaybeck
Summary: The missing scene from Legacy of Secrets, in which Willa and Maybeck redirect guests to the second ticket booth in order to buy Charlene some time to ask about the coin. • Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Keepers, The Return, any of the characters, or the excerpts from Legacy of Secrets (which I bring attention to inside).


**Certain text is from book two of the second Kingdom Keepers series, The Return, written by Ridley Pearson and published by Disney Hyperion. To differentiate from my own writing, the excerpt from the novel is italicized.**

 **The excerpt was taken from Chapter 27, To Grandmother's Shop We Go. It can be found on pages 188 and 189 in Legacy of Secrets.**

* * *

While still very far from figuring out where Walt Disney's fountain pen was – and the worrying reality that they were stuck in 1955 – the five Keepers _did_ have a lead, which was a rather interesting coin taken out of Lillian Disney's purse. They were currently (or formerly; tenses could get tricky with time travel) making their way through the gateway tunnels underneath the Disney Railroad tracks, immediately finding themselves face-to-face with two ticket booths.

They stood clumped together, unsure when or _how,_ exactly, to continue moving.

 _"This is going to be tricky," Finn said. They were basically Flat Stanleys that could walk and talk; it would be difficult to stand in line without their lack of three dimensions being noticeable._

 _Charlene came up with a solution. "We're going to have to wait for the line to be empty. That's the only way we stand half a chance."_

 _"Well," Maybeck said, "Willa and I should be able to help make that happen."_

As they swiftly moved toward the other ticket booth, Willa cast an upwards glance at Maybeck. "You think these guests will actually listen to us?"

Maybeck tilted his head in an 'eh' manner, somehow managing to sound confident at the same time. "Let's put it this way: either we force them to, or we're stuck waiting for the line to tamper down."

Willa ran a hand over her nearly formal attire and felt the material of Maybeck's clothing as they stopped next to the booth. "We seem legitimate. Worth a shot."

First, Maybeck caught a guest heading toward the line with an outstretched arm. "Ah, the _second_ booth, sir. Much quicker. Thank you." Next he cupped his hands around his mouth and called out, "Second ticket booth open! Faster entry! Please work your way over here for a faster way to fun!"

Willa held back a snort. "'Faster way to fun'?"

He made eye contact with her. "It's working, isn't it?"

Willa nodded in agreement, seeing many of the guests in the first line scatter like scared mice. "Good job."

"Thank you."

She moved forward and waved people over. "This way, please! Got to give our employees some breaks, don't we?" She offered up a kind smile, hoping to charm them into moving at an increased speed.

Maybeck, taller than almost half the guests in attendance, craned his neck. Willa saw his eyes light up before she felt his hand on her back. "Charlie's asking about the coin."

Willa couldn't see a thing, and she was about to remind him of that when she heard one of the guests' comments as they passed by.

"I wish you would show me affection like that, Tom. They're so young, but they're already sweeter than you!" The middle-aged woman slapped her partner's arm as they walked, eyes very clearly drifting over to where Willa and Maybeck stood.

Willa felt her cheeks warm, her attention elsewhere. Maybeck _did_ pay more attention to her than Philby had recently – or ever, really – and the thought made her unnaturally sheepish. Suddenly she didn't feel right with his hand on her back, the two of them always on missions together. He had a real connection with Charlene.

Just as quickly as Charlene popped into her head, she was floating away again. They didn't show affection much either. Truly, it was only Maybeck and Willa who regularly showed their friendship publicly, and she was fairly certain she had to be the color of a tomato as she realized this.

"Awe, Will, you can't see, can you?" Maybeck's teasing voice brought Willa back to the present (or past; gosh, time travel was confusing).

His hand on her back felt like it was a thousand degrees. She jerked away momentarily, feeling her face go the reddest it had ever been. She forced a laugh. "Ha ha, very funny, Terry." Her voice came out smaller than she meant it to.

Maybeck's eyes narrowed, but he turned towards more guests and motioned them over to the second booth. A few beats passed before he looked back at his fellow Keeper, concern still visible on his features. "You sure are red for such a tiny joke," he observed. "You okay?"

Willa had taken the seconds he was distracted to attempt to reach composure, succeeding in cooling her face and making her shaking hands, something she'd only noticed moments before, calm down slightly. "Yeah, perfectly fine." She cleared her throat before making eye contact with him. "I just hope Charlene's lucky and we're not chasing nothing."

His surprise at her confession (half-assed and brought out randomly, to be truthful, but still a growing thought for her nonetheless) was evident. Usually he was the one to doubt their plans. "I don't think we're chasing nothing. We can't be."

Her frantic attempt at changing the subject had turned into a possibility for a real conversation, and she honestly wanted to talk about this. "I just don't see how it's possible for us to return, and that worries me. You know how I can usually see the solution."

Maybeck nodded, conceding her point. "If you remember, sometimes you can't see the answer for awhile. Give it time."

Willa just looked at him. "Are you just happy-go-lucky in 1955 or is this a new development I hadn't noticed?"

He cut his eyes at her, looking like he was offended but the expression was soon wiped off his face. "I don't know. We're all here together – I have Charlene with me." She sincerely hoped he didn't catch how her face fell for a fraction of a second. "It's not all bad. We're good at this stuff. And as tricky as time travel is, there has to be some way to get out: there was the other times Finn went through this. And me as well, but obviously I don't remember that."

Willa bit her lip, then regained her normal smile and swept an arm out toward the second ticket booth as an approaching guest arrived. Successfully redirecting him, she opened her mouth once more. "I appreciate your points, and it helps, really," she added, crossing her fingers he didn't retreat back into his 'too cool' façade, although he didn't do that much with her. "But that's another thing." She sucked in a breath.

Maybeck waited. "What?"

Exhaling, she asked, "We're not going to remember any of this, are we? Only you and Finn? That's how this has always worked for you guys, and I seriously doubt being trapped in the past for longer than a few hours this time will change that."

He awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, scanning the very thin crowd forming behind them at the second ticket booth. They had done an excellent job as a distraction; he knew he was right to volunteer Willa to work with him. "If we're really talking about this–"

"Which we are," Willa cut in, eyes firm.

Maybeck breathed loudly. "Well damn it, Willa, I don't know." He took a minute to gather his thoughts and wring out his hands, and by then Finn was motioning them over to rejoin the rest of the Keepers.

They began the walk over to meet up with them, and Maybeck said under his breath so only Willa could hear, "You might not remember this, you're right. But we'll tell you what happened. And you're smart, so you'll believe us." He looked at her for a moment. "You'll believe me, right?"

Willa bobbed her head automatically, but not in a rushed way as if she was faking it. "Of course. And you're convincing, so it'll make sense."

Maybeck grinned. "Damn right it will."

She allowed herself to roll her eyes. She was well aware Charlene wasn't for him swearing, but to her it was amusing. It showed a lot of character, something she fiercely admired about him.

They caught up with the Keepers, and headed off to a different area to talk. Willa's hands had stopped shaking. She ended up next to Philby, but she felt drawn to Maybeck, wanting to continue their conversation.

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 **I wasn't really sure where this was going, but I love where it ended. I have a whole bunch of Willbeck scenes to write because, if you haven't noticed, they do have missions together and missing scenes – they're just not shown. The reason why? Probably due to their undeniable chemistry that would shine through Charbeck and Wilby in two seconds** _ **flat.**_

 **This fanfic is also on my Wattpad, AO3, and Tumblr: willamaybeck. {Account links on my profile page.}  
**

 **Please review; I know the Willbeck fans are out there somewhere! x3**


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